The Independent National Electoral Commission has released the final list of candidates for the 2027 National Assembly elections in Kwara State, listing Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq and Senator Saliu Mustapha for the Kwara Central senatorial seat and Kolo Baba Jiya for Kwara North amid controversies over the emergence of the two Peoples Democratic Party candidates.

The list, released on INEC's website on Saturday, features candidates from 13 political parties contesting the Kwara Central senatorial seat, 11 in Kwara North and 11 in Kwara South.

The publication comes amid political realignments ahead of the 2027 elections, with Mustapha's defection from the All Progressives Congress to the PDP following his unsuccessful bid for the APC governorship ticket and a legal challenge to Baba Jiya's emergence as the opposition party's candidate in Kwara North.

In Kwara Central, Mustapha, the incumbent senator representing the district, is listed as the PDP candidate against AbdulRazaq of the APC, who is seeking election to the Senate as his tenure as governor approaches its end in 2027.

Mustapha's candidacy followed his defection from the APC in August after he lost the party's governorship primary to the Speaker of the Kwara State House of Assembly, Yakubu Danladi-Salihu, and failed to secure the APC senatorial ticket.

The senator subsequently obtained the PDP ticket through a substitution process, setting up a contest with AbdulRazaq, whose political differences with Mustapha had featured prominently in discussions surrounding the APC's internal affairs in the state.

Explaining his decision to leave the APC, Mustapha said the party's leadership in Kwara had departed from the principles of internal democracy and collective participation.

"However, recent developments within the APC in our State, particularly the leadership of the Party in Kwara State, have departed from the founding core principles of collective unity and internal democracy on which the APC was built," he said in his resignation letter.

"I have not dumped President Tinubu. Like the Honourable Minister of FCT said, this Rainbow Coalition has extended to Kwara too," Mustapha said during an interview on Channels Television's Politics Today.

Explaining the decision to adopt the PDP as his platform, he said the move involved a coalition of political groups rather than his personal political interest alone.

"That is why it was deliberate to pick the PDP as our platform. It is not just Senator Saliu Mustapha. It is as a result of the coalition of the Otoge Progressives, the G15 and the Elder Caucus," he said.

Mustapha also criticised the conduct of the APC governorship primary, questioning the process through which the results were collated and announced.

The allegations reflect Mustapha's position on the APC primary. INEC's inclusion of his name on the final list identifies him as the PDP candidate for Kwara Central but does not constitute a finding on the allegations he made against the ruling party's process.

In Kwara North, Baba Jiya is listed as the PDP candidate despite a legal challenge by former Commissioner for Works and Transport, Suleiman Rotimi Iliasu, over the substitution of his name.

Iliasu approached the Federal High Court in Ilorin, claiming that he won the PDP senatorial primary conducted on May 20, 2026, and that INEC initially published his name as the party's candidate on August 1.

According to a report published by Ilorin.info on September 13, the former commissioner is challenging the subsequent appearance of Baba Jiya's name on the list, arguing that his candidature was replaced unlawfully.

The suit, marked FHC/IL/CS/136/2026, names INEC, the PDP and Baba Jiya as respondents.

Iliasu is seeking a declaration that the substitution was invalid, recognition as the party's validly nominated candidate and an order restraining INEC from recognising Baba Jiya.

The legal challenge centres on whether the PDP could validly replace Iliasu with Baba Jiya, particularly in light of Iliasu's claim that he neither withdrew his candidature nor authorised the substitution.

The claims have not been established as findings of the court, and the publication of Baba Jiya's name on the final list does not, on its own, determine the outcome of the suit.

A further development was reported on September 30, when CK Media Affairs reported that the Federal High Court had authorised substituted service of court processes on Baba Jiya.

The order concerned the method of serving the court documents and did not determine the substantive dispute over the PDP's nomination.

The Kwara North list also features Mahmud Umar Muhammad of the APC, Saliu Muritala A. of Accord, Ibrahim Ejiko Mohammed of Action Alliance, Temako Naomi of the Action Democratic Party, Ibrahim Ramat of the African Peoples Party, Bala Taoheed Usman of the African Democratic Congress, Owolabi Felicia of the Action Peoples Movement, Abdulgafar Sulaiman of the National Rescue Movement, Tajudeen Abdullahi Mohammed of the New Nigeria Peoples Party and Gana Thomas Audu of the National Democratic Congress.

In Kwara Central, AbdulRazaq AbdulRahaman is listed for the APC, while Mustapha Saliu is the PDP candidate.

The other candidates are Musa Aliyu of Accord; Adesola Kehinde of Action Alliance; Gani Omolabi of the Action Democratic Party; Gbadesogun Olufemi Adeleke of the African Peoples Party; Abdulahi Risikat Motunrayo of the African Democratic Congress; Anjorin John Temitayo of the Action Peoples Movement; Abdulkarim-Adisa Maryam Ayoola-Fadekemi of the Labour Party; Adepoju Adekunle of the National Rescue Movement; Lawal Abdulhakeem Toyin of the New Nigeria Peoples Party; Suleiman Abdulrasheed Olufemi Omoda of the National Democratic Congress; and Alh Salma Abdul Yakini of the Social Democratic Party.

In Kwara North, Jiya Kollo, also identified as Kolo Baba Jiya, is listed for the PDP, while Mahmud Umar Muhammad is the APC candidate.

The other candidates are Saliu Muritala A. of Accord; Ibrahim Ejiko Mohammed of Action Alliance; Temako Naomi of the Action Democratic Party; Ibrahim Ramat of the African Peoples Party; Bala Taoheed Usman of the African Democratic Congress; Owolabi Felicia of the Action Peoples Movement; Abdulgafar Sulaiman of the National Rescue Movement; Tajudeen Abdullahi Mohammed of the New Nigeria Peoples Party; and Gana Thomas Audu of the National Democratic Congress.

In Kwara South, Adewoye Olalekan is listed for the APC, while Popoola Saheed is the PDP candidate.

The other candidates are Oyedepo Iyiola of the African Democratic Congress; Olarewaju Segun Oluwatoyin of the African Peoples Party; Alabi Amos of Accord; Abdullahi Balogun of the Action Democratic Party; Ajayi Olayemi Bidemi of the Action Peoples Movement; Abdulgafar Sulaiman of the National Rescue Movement; Omokanye Adedoyin Raymond of the New Nigeria Peoples Party; Oni Samuel Omoniyi of the National Democratic Congress; and Anifowoshe Grace of the Social Democratic Party.

The publication provides the list of candidates for the three Kwara senatorial districts, with the Kwara Central contest featuring the sitting governor and incumbent senator on different party platforms and the Kwara North race remaining subject to a dispute over the PDP's nomination.